Job Discussion Forums

[lostinparis]

Okay, so I have recently inherited four top executives (the CEO, Finance Director, Marketing Director and General Mgr) at a leading European internet company. They are planning on going public in a few months and want to work on their English.

The problem - they are all incredibly smart, talented, and BILINGUAL to boot. I'm not sure what I can do with them, considering their advanced level of English. The Finance Director, for example, has a master's from Columbia U in New York and speaks English fluently - knows waaaay more finance vocab than I will ever hope to know.

What do I do with these people?

What do you do with your advanced students, other than just get them to talk to you for an hour or bring articles for discussion? These people are forking over a fair chunk of change for classes, so I can't really get paid just to sit around and talk.

Normally I use the Upper intermed Market Leader textbook for more advanced students, but even this book seems a bit easy for them....

any suggestions would really be appreciated.

gros bisous de Paris,
L

[lostinparis]

p.s. i forgot to mention that these are individual, in-company lessons. one hour each.

[Glenski]

Any reason not to work on their pronuciation?

How about idioms and phrasal verbs?

I had a fairly high level student who showed me a dozen or so Far Side cartoons in every lesson and asked me to explain the humor, which led to explanations of lots more than just that. History. Science. American customs and stereotypes of things. Etc.

How are their presentation skills? Could you work on them, especially since they are just about to go public? That would include everything from spelling to fielding questions to presenting materials in a clear manner.

[IanN]

I have a company which only teaches business English. The books we use are from a company called Summertown Publishing (www.summertown.co.uk) and the materials are excellent.

The Higher book for advanced students is difficult and soome of my advanced students (who are very fluent) struggle with the vocab and learn something new all the time.

Another alternative is to get a copy of The Economist and use articles from that. You will often find vocab that you need to look up to find the meaning.

However, what makes things easier for me is that I have a degree in maths & economics and worked as a risk analyst for a bank for many years before moving into teaching.

[Guy Courchesne]

If they are so advanced, no pre-fab business English book will help. My guess, from experience, is that the students will always need help on pronunciation and listening skills. Like IanN says, the Economist or something inhouse from this company might be best.

I like to challenge my business students into related fields of conversation, negotiation, or problem-solving..trying to come up with new ways of thinking.

[moonraven]

Why not start by asking them what THEIR priorities are for the classes...After all, they are the ones paying your salary.

[Ariadne]

I fear flaming, but how about trying some crosswords? They include references to so many different subject areas like popular culture, movies, humor, geography, multiple meanings, literature, and politics. Lots of the better crosswords can be tough for native speakers and would present a real challenge to English students.

[Roger]

I think you DO NOT NEED TO spoon-feed them new language items such as idiomatic expressions or even work hard on their pronunciation! If they asked you to help them then they probably know why, perhaps beter than you do.
I suggest giving them interpretation homework to do - to filter out the most essential things from a newspaper article, and give concise speeches on it.
Limit their time and impose on them a minimum/maximum limit of words.
Tape-record the whole speech and then go over it with them to identify their various flaws and strengths.
You could for example ask them to give literary reviews based on those they read in Le Monde or in the International Herald Tribune.

[dmb]

Authentic material like the Economist.

[Girl Scout]

I also suggest you checking their telephone skills. This is primarily their ability to listen and understand without visual clues.

[lostinparis]

A big thanks to everyone who replied with suggestions.

I guess I should have described high-level Paris execs for those who aren�t familiar with this particular type of person. These people all have diplomas from top French schools, are super smart, and make big bucks, etc, etc� I don�t care about this in the least and it doesn�t normally intimidate me. However, I mention it here because with these type of people, they don�t have quite the same view about English classes that other students do.

As they are high level execs, you, as a teacher, are seen as a consumable good. If they aren�t getting results (and quickly at that), they will simply find another �product� which better suits their needs (hence the pressure I�m under). Secondly, at the level these people are at, you can imagine how they react to grammar lessons, even more advanced and difficult things. They think their level is so good that they don�t need grammar, and they get offended and will often tell you �I learned this in junior high school, why are you wasting my time.� (Yes, they don�t mince words.) I usually get around this resistance by asking them to explain the grammar point to me first, as if I was the student. When they realize they can�t really explain it very well, then I jump in. This way they can�t really object. Besides, when people really don�t make any mistakes when you�re listening to them, how do you know what they need to work on?

The other problem I have teaching these people is that they�ve specifically asked to work on building up vocabulary in their respective fields. I�m okay in marketing, having worked in the field before, but I haven�t the faintest idea about finance, which they ALL want vocabulary in. I�m envying your banking experience here IanN! Because they are going public, they�re going to be doing a pr tour through Europe where they will have to present their annual report (among other documents involving those things called numbers�) to financial analysts. I feel way in over my head.

So I guess my questions are�

How do you teach industry specific English if you don�t know the industry? Is this somehow possible without me having to study a finance book every night before I go to bed? Has anyone used specific books that have worked.. I don�t want to reinvent the wheel here. I do have other students to think about too�

How do you avoid being a dictionary for these people? I bring one with me obviously.. but they give me weird looks when I can�t translate a word in French into English for them and have to look. (My French is quite good, I might add, but I�m hopeless with ��$$ terms)

Thanks for all your great suggestions everyone�. Keep �em coming!

[Atlas]

(edited because of the French factor)...

Don't be intimidated, you can help them. They are still your students.

Among the good suggestions listed here, I'd add pair work or role playing various scenarios, from booking travel itineraries to trade show company introductions, business lunches with cultural etiquette information, and negotiating deals, and if you don't know what kind then you can elicit suggestions from the students themselves. You can find a lot of free stuff online too. You can have them make up a role and a situation, wind them up and watch them go, take notes and make grammar corrections afterwards. You may find that the most grammar they need correcting are the odd mispronunciation, or misplacement of articles, but the real trick is to get them asking each other questions. Then the class takes care of itself.

And admit when you are in a field in which you are unfamiliar. Ask them to define the ideas. What is a bond market? What is an investment bank for? Get them talking about their jobs, you'll find they can do that quite well. If they say they modulate the schizulation indexes for the hospice industry, ask, what the hell is that? What's it like? How's business this year? WHere's the best market for that kind of thing?

If you are tutoring one on one, then it's best to ascertain in what way they wish to develop, and don't forget you can have them prepare a presentation about something of their choice. I find it works well when I have allies in the room that can help me generate discussions, but if it's only one student, another thing I like to teach is the unconventional english, such as using present or present continuous to indicate the future.
But they really aren't going to need grammar instruction. One on one students often appreciate the opportunity to talk about something specific they have in mind.

There are a lot of business dictionaries online too, you may find them invaluable. You don't have to be the dictionary. You can let them do their own damn legwork getting the vocab they need, and then make presentations. If they treat you curtly, don' t take it personally. Nobody is born knowing this stuff, that's why colleges make so much money. They can get vocab on their own time. You could provide the lists though Then put them into scenarios to role play.

One more thing, about broade business concepts, I often like to use materials I find online about goal setting strategies, 7 habits of highly effective people, negotiating tips, conflict resolution, decision making strategies, and even management techniques (from sites like Fastcompany.com). You know, what business people like to read in their magazines. The important thing to remember is, you don't have to be the expert, that's their job. You just have to open doors. Let them walk through.

My rule of thumb is I don't work harder than the student. Hell, I don't need English practice and neither do you. Good luck!

[SueH]

Peter Wilberg (ISTR) has some good ideas in his book 1-2-1 teaching.

I'm doing some teaching at the moment where the student has asked for work on answering ad-hoc spoken questions - role-playing hostile journalists might be a useful exercise in your case

As for pronunciation: you may remember the French guy Gerbeau who was bought in to help run the London Dome. His accent was (still is) an excruciating parody of Inspector Clouseau when he speaks English - and that is an aspect you may feel worth addressing.

[sigmoid]

Do a needs assessment or analysis with the students to find out what they want to practice, something like this:

English Language Needs Assessment

How long have you studied English?
When?
Where?

When do you use English?
At work
ท Attend academic lectures
ท Make presentations to an audience
ท Speak on the telephone
ท Speak to people face to face
ท Read magazines/newspapers
ท Read letters
ท Read reports
ท Write essays/reports/articles
ท Write business letters/faxes
ท Write e-mail messages

In social situations?
ท Conversations

What are your strengths/weaknesses in using in English?

Pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5

Grammar 1 2 3 4 5

Vocabulary 1 2 3 4 5

Pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5

Speaking 1 2 3 4 5

Listening 1 2 3 4 5

Reading 1 2 3 4 5

Writing 1 2 3 4 5


Do you intend to take any examinations?

Do you have any special requests?

------------------------------------------------------------

Also, make the class "task-based". Have the students doing and practicing whatever you've decided to cover.

[carnac]

Concur with moonraven. All these other posts give some great ideas for things you can do, but you begin with: Why are you here? What can I do for you? Have had this situation several times; this is absolutely best beginning. Yes, these guys are educated and bright, but YOU are the expert in your field. They're not looking for a brain-dump, there is something specific they are looking for. Find out what it is. Then go. Probably each has individual priorities. Make sure to keep notes on each as you progress.At the beginning, do an assessment of each for strong and less strong areas (god forbid you say "weak"!) and share your assessment with them and discuss it. Remember, the French are by self-definition the most logical and intelligent people on the planet. (personal knowledge)(personal self-opinion being born there) :-]
There are, someone mentioned, online dictionaries for every possible subject. Use Google: [economics dictionary online] or [business terms dictionary online] On your own, print out a dictionary of internationally-recognized terms in their field. DO NOT do a "print web page",do a copy/paste to Word, number the pages (upper-right), do a nifty little header to complete the picture (A Dictionary of International Business Terms), make a professional-looking document. Check it completely. Get it bound in a spiral format so they can lay it flat. . Make a little cover page for your personal presentation" A Dictionary of ???? Terms, created for Monsieur Jacques Bonaventure, 26 March 2005", by...your name.... (At the end, give attribution to website) Have them read it page-by-page. Each session, have them ask you about terms and/or explain their understanding. You will find false-learning. But you must do the same beforehand to ensure you know what you are talking about. (I had to do this with International Economics and International Diplomacy. Certainly not my fields, but hey, you learn by teaching, right? Meanwhile, do all the other things in this thread. You can be just fine. Confidence!
Carnac